One of the things I hope to do with this blog is provide information that the network news, Jon Stewart or Saturday Night Live won't cover (Yes, some people actually view SNL as a legitimate news source). I'll give you my thoughts but will gladly listen to other opinions.
The first story I'm featuring, in my opinion. exposes a sector of our society that is unfortunately growing in numbers and enthusiasm. No matter what religion you are, even if you have none, this should appall you:
What I find encouraging about this story is the resolve and determination of these people. There is pure evil at work here, but good will always prevail. My heart and prayers go out to the people in these communities. Stay strong. Maintain your faith.
People, you need to dive deeper into this story and gather whatever information you can that is NOT being reported. Notice the writing on the walls? Someone took their time with this. It wasn't just a quick ransacking. They took the time to use two colors and make it very legible for a purpose. Phrases like, "Prepare for the Worst" and "No one is coming back 4 you (sic)" suggest a more sinister source than your typical teenagers up to no good.
Please, PLEASE don't shrug this off. We need to shed more light on these instances.
This post, like all of my others plus the video files will be downloaded and stored at a secure location.
dude, enjoyed the read. I am glad you are one of the few that are actually doing something about their views. However, I disagree with the religious post. It all boils down to satanists believing in the "End of the world" BS we have been so poisoned with over the centuries. Ya, Im not a "believer" but this is just propaganda that the Vatican and just about every other Religious sect has tried to lead us to believe for their own personal gain. After the shit I have had to deal with in the past 12yrs it put me on a path of actually studying Theology and Philosophy. The truth, imo, is man needs to make up reasons bad things happen to be able to cope with such terrible natural problems. Not to mention, humans refuse to accept responsibility for their own actions. Hence its easier to believe in a "boogie man" to blame it all on. Hate and ignorance causes way too many problems in this world. But if people could start accepting the fact that we, as humans, are just that....human. The world would be a much better place. We make mistakes every single day. At one point even the sun was a god. Its a terrible thing to deface someones belief system in any way. If you feel like having a deeper discussion fire me off a call. If the world ends its only because we fucked up or a natural disaster caused it. In the end you can only control yourself. ;)
ReplyDeleteStanding up for what you believe in is important but to be blinded to the point of not being able to open your mind and try to see something through the other persons eyes, well, that is why the word ignorance has such a broad base.
The point of my post was more to illustrate that there is evil in this world and that it is on the march. In this particular instance, the violence was aimed at a church. So, it may have appeared as a pro-Christian post when it was really a commentary on good vs. evil.
ReplyDeleteDon't get me wrong; I'm an unapologetic Christian and my faith guides me on a daily basis. However, I will be the first to stand up and point out evil even if it is "faith-driven" (the church that protests at soldiers' funerals comes to mind).
The point of the post is this: Evil is at work. It's not just a group of kids up to no good. This is a calculated attack and we all need to stand together against it regardless of our religion or lack thereof.
Very true my friend. And, I did get the jest of the article. However, I find "evil" as defined in religious terms, to be more of a creative definition then an absolute fact. Is there evil? Yes. Is there good? Yes. But isn't the molestation of a child also an absolute evil? And yet.......well we know where this is going. This does look more like a young, unintelligent, ignorant group of youths thought that doing this would get them some attention and be able to play on the fears of Christian majority country. And it has. I know we have known each other forever. If you knew, what I have come to know your views might not be the same. I have spent 12+ yrs studying Religions in serious depth. We really put too much effort into something that, well, just doesn't exist. I have a huge respect for people that have complete unfaltering blind faith in religion. But the truth is, that is such a small amount of the world you couldn't fill PA with them. Hell probably not even pittsburgh.
ReplyDeleteThe only truth that exists in this world on this subject is that no one knows what the truth really is.
ReplyDeleteI'm planning on actually writing about this in either an essay form or even perhaps a short book. It couples science with faith and it kind of goes after both sides -- the atheistic/agnostic side vs. the religious zealot side. Everything is based on "Belief" or "Faith", not just for the religious people but for the non-believers as well. To say, "I don't believe" in something is the same as saying that you have a "belief" in the absence of that thing.
I look at it as a huge CSI episode myself where mankind is given "clues" to figure out his origin and purpose for being. While you may look at the evidence and say, "I don't believe in a higher power", I look at the same evidence and come up with a completely opposite opinion. As far as we know, neither of our opinions are right and neither of them are wrong because we just have not been given enough evidence as "proof" of either view.
I could go on for HOURS on this. I appreciate the comments. I think I'm going to put the proverbial "pen to paper" while this topic is still fresh in my mind.
Fear causes strong men to drop to knee and week men to lift the world. Basic animal instinct causes people to put belief in something that isnt even there. How many times has man messed up. Look at the BS the Govt has put out about Pot for instance. They say the greatest prank the devil ever played is causing people to not believe. But I think mans biggest prank is putting belief in something to rationalize our fears. In the end we are just another species on this planet. It will be a long time from now, but the world will finally be able to shed the ignorance of the past and finally be able to accept that there is nothing else. Energy is infinite. And, after all, we are just a ball of energy. I would love to have faith, but history proves otherwise. And are we not to learn from our past?
ReplyDeleteHow has history "proved" or "disproved" anything regarding the origin of the universe? The Bible and most other religious documents were written before man even knew that the earth was round. Obviously there have been major technological advances since then and man has achieved a much higher level of enlightenment. This has sparked some debates between religion and science on what "the truth" really is.
ReplyDeleteThe problem is that both sides of this argument have people that just simply choose to stick to their guns and be stubborn. For example:
Mary Agnes Bible-thumper: "We did not elvolve from monkeys. The bible says so. To suggest otherwise is blasphemy and you will burn in hell."
Professer Brainiac Atheist: "Carbon dating and other archeological finds prove that the earth is over 6,000 years old and that we did indeed evolve from monkeys. Therefore, the theory of Creation is debunked and there is no God."
No one, to my knowledge had ever proved or disproved the presence of a greater being and intelligent design. We have telescopes that can essentially look back in time all the way to the Big Bang, but they can't tell us what came before the Big Bang or how it happened.
I would disagree about energy being infinite. The equation, as you know, is E=Mc squared. c is a constant (the speed of light) and therefore it is finite. M is equal to mass. Mass cannot be infinite since we have discovered absences of mass (outer space).
I would agree with you about the pot legalization with the following conditions:
1. By using pot, alcohol or any other recreational drugs, you forfeit all claims to any government assistance, with the exception of medicinal purposes.
2. Private companies can retain the right to mandatory drug tests for the purposes of hiring and retaining employment.
I think pot legalization would give this economy the shot in the arm that it needed. Not only would the government tax the crap out of it, but the resulting surge in firings caused by people deciding, "Work sucks, I don't want to go... pass the chips" would open up more jobs and reduce unemployment.
I'm joking about a lot of this, of course, but the Libertarian in me says it should be legalized.
You are right. No one can prove a higher power exists or does not. As for history, it is there dude. Maybe not the "Final Word" but its there. As men we are stupid. Especially at the time that written language emerged. Sun = God WRONG, World is Flat WRONG, on and on and on. So if we are sooo much more intelligent centuries later, why do we still hold on to this religious crap that contradicts itself at every turn? Or better yet, causes wars, murders, suicides etc. Christianity is the worst of the worst. They preach love thy neighbor, forgive and yet those same people start the spanish inquisition. Or are ready to shun and hate anyone that is not a christian. I let all religions alone. And yet they can not forgive or not pass judgement on people who just find it all to be freaking insanity and chose not to believe? WTF??? How many christians do you know of that have stoned non believers or have killed their first born? Its in the bible! I guess they dont do it for moral reasons but isnt that an act against gods "Rules" imo your in or your out. But today every so called christian only practices what they feel is important. Im sorry but thats just not enough. You either follow the rules that "God" made up or you dont. It sickens me. I have a neighbor that is sooooooo freaking religious. Signs in yard whole nine yards. And yet, he uses derogatory terms towards other ethnic groups, wont let his kids shower more then once a week, his son is going to be the next ted bundy and he had the nerve to give me shit about putting out Halloween decorations. To me, not only does he not practice what he preaches but also is ignorant towards History and the History of his own religion. Or my real favorite one from a Roman Catholic friend of mine who said I was going to hell. I asked him, "You got divorced and that's against god in your churches eyes. Does that not mean you are too?". He replied with, "Well the church told me to pay $4000 to have the marriage annulled, so I am ok.". WTF, God needed $4000 for what???? He was married for 10yrs. I met up with an actual vatican cardinal at a friends house. I asked him tons of questions. My favorite is when he told me, "Its all a load of crap!" a freaking cardinal!! And this is just chritianity, *cough* Constantine *cough*. I could go on for hours on the topic with just about every "Recognized" religion in the world.
ReplyDeleteIn the end, I practice more of a Buddhist lifestyle. I get up in the morning, decide how I can change to be a better person, act upon that, rinse and repeat.
I would go on about the energy thing into more depth but I simply don't have the energy right now. It all makes me sick. Brought up to believe there is some good higher power out there, only to find out its all like santa and the easter bunny. No one can tell the truth anymore. Remind me sometime to tell you a story of how someone approached me after a show to talk about christ down in the bible belt. Great story, jackass people! Sorry for the rant. Again, for the true believers that have %200 belief and blind faith, I admire you! The rest, just keep telling yourself you are religious. Maybe one day it will come true. (if you wish hard enough!) sarcasm implied :)
On yet off topic, have you ever watched anything by Bill Hitch? His debates are freaking amazing.
I didn't suggest that history has always been right. That's part of enlightenment. I think you are flawed in your perception of Christianity. Obviously there were hideous atrocities committed by people claiming that they were working in the name of Christ and God, but that should not be an indictment of Christianity itself. I, like you am sickened by those whose who feel that they have been ordained to commit murder or abuse children or torture thousands of people or start wars because "God" told them to. However, this is indicative of mankind, not the teachings of the religion itself.
ReplyDeleteTo say that "Christianity" is responsible for the anecdotal examples you listed is like saying that "Baseball" is responsible for steroid use. You can argue, "If baseball did not exist then the steroid use would not have occurred". You would be right. If baseball did not exist, then these people would not have a reason to use steroids. But does that mean that baseball is at fault or the small percentage of people who play it and also use steroids?
Look... I see your point and understand your frustration. I actually feel the same way about it that you do. The only difference is how we've chosen to rationalize things. I look at the checkered past of Christianity and see opportunities to learn and grow from mistakes. Every organized religion has it's black eyes and I won't fall into the trap of defending the atrocities. However, I have personally seen the power of faith in my life. I would be in a DARK, DARK place if I ever lost faith. My faith isn't blind... it's blinding.
Anyway, I'm done preaching. As a Christian I also believe that if I am to pass judgement, I will be judged in the same narrow light. So I will continue to respect your opinion regardless of whether or not I agree with it. In my case, the worst case scenario will be that I remain a Christian my entire life and then die and not go to heaven because it doesn't exist. I become the earth... nothing ventured, nothing gained.
I also, like you, try to better myself on a daily basis. The way I accomplish this is by using the faiths and values that have been instilled in me. So, again, if I'm wrong about God, then I'm wrong. But I don't think the way I've lived my life was damaging to anyone. Evil people do evil things. If your doing it in the name of religion, it doesn't make it any more or less evil.
Whew... I think I've said all I can say on this subject. I'll give you the last word.
I think we both could go on for hours on the subject. I have only given you a few of my thoughts. As for black eyes I could go on for centuries listing them. And only on christianity. Don't even start me on the rest of the cults this world has. When it comes to religion the old saying "In for a ounce, in for a pound" Can not work with religion. You either are in or out. You either follow it to the letter or you are just going through the motions. Check out some videos called "hitchslapped" on youtube. As an intelligent life form, I find staying with these old tribal beliefs to be absurd. I have died twice in the past 12yrs. No pearly gates, no burning fires. My issue is not with the people that do good but the ones that do good in the name of. In the end it just seems people go through the motions just to get the end payout and not for personal enlightenment. If you do good it should be because you just want to be a good person. NO other reason. I really feel a lot is being lost in translation of my argument without the power that comes across when spoken. If you erase religion (John Lennon) sure people will find something else to fight about. But wouldn't it just be one less thing in the world to cause trouble? You can argue that all war has to do with politics, but you would be wrong. It all has religious repercussions and normally stems from "My belief is better then yours!" syndrome. Check out one of the Hitch videos I posted on my wall. He gets the point across pretty damn perfect as to how I feel. Holding on to this archaic belief system is holding us back as a culture. And until, I see christian's stoning non believers or killing their first born as the bible states to do. I find it is filled with too much hypocrisy. Sure, I wont eat meat on friday buy not using condoms, that's blasphomy.Or how christian's wear a cross with Jesus hung on it and yet, if you read your bible, it is AGAINST your religion to do so. I can see your point, so please do not get me wrong. But, if you are doing it just to get to heaven, you are missing the point all together. :
ReplyDelete;) BTW, still luv you buddy! Just remember, evil only has the power YOU give it.